The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-07-06
Chickens are to be guarded against
hawks. owls. rats and skunks.

It is stated that there has been of late
years an unwonted demand for sunfower
seeds.
Keep the young pigs in pasture in the
orchard; those for early market should
have meal-slop daily.
Don't use any parsnip seed unless it be
of last years growth, as such seed does
not readily germinate if old.
If rat gets into chicken coop it will
kill every chick if it can have time to
carry them off before being discovered.
No invariable rule can be laid down
for the raising of calves on skim milk and
each feeder must make rule for each
calf.
Whenever the currant worm appears
spray the bushes with white hellebore,
Tablespoonful of the powder to a paiiful
water,
| Setting strawberry plants on ground
that has been in cultivation for two or
three years is advised as preventive of
white grub.
Do not kill the mole until satisfied
whether it is an enemy or a friend.
Sometimes the mole destroys large
number of cutworms and slugs.
Mr.. Albaugh, we'll known in Ohio
horticulture, says that one grower sowed
oats among his grapes every spring to
prevent rot, and considered it success:
Tne demand is increasing throughout
the country for windmills that will not
onlv pump water, but furnish power for
running various kinds of farm machinery.
Small chickens should never be kept
or fed with old ones. They are apt to be
injured. Have two or three yards and
separate them according to size and
strength.
AS sunfower seed is very liable to
heat the safest way of keeping it for
fowls is to cut off tie flower head when
the seed is ripe and pile it loosely till
thrown to the fowls.
Dampness is bad for young chicks.
Arrange their drinking vessels so that
they cannot get into them, and do not
allow them to run in the wet grass or be
out in storm.
If sheep have free access to salt they
will never over-eat of it, but if salted
occasionally and given it freely they will
eat too much, which provokes unnatural
thirst and possibly injurious effects.
The american Cultiuator says if every
farmer would limit himself in ploughing
to such an area as he can cultivate and
manure in the most thorough manner,
there would soon cease to be any COM
plant about farming not paying.
Professor Alvord says: "Butter from
cows fed on ensilage stands In the first
c,oss in our most critical markets, and has
done 80 some years. I do not mean to
refer to extreme cases of irrational, e1-
elusive feeding of ensilage or any
approach thereto. On the use of ensilage
am no enthusiast or extremist, but be-
lieve it to be valuable-in most cases
invaluable-addition to our list of foods
for cattle; for dairy cattle and butter
makers at that.
An English gardener states that the
roots of trees may be prevented from en-
tering between the JOINTS of drain tiles
by using coal tar. In using 1t mix 1t
with sawdust to the consistency OF or
dinary building mortar. A layer OF this
should be spread on the bottom OF the
drain; on this set the drain pipes and
then cover all over with the tar mortar:
If the work be carefully performed and
the mortar applied in sufficient quantl-
ties, say one and half inches thick all
round, success may be guaranteed.
Mr.. E. s. Carmen, in the Rural Neao
Yorker, says: "Our practice is to cover
the seed potatoes slightly with soil and
then sow the fertilizer in the burrows or
trenches. We have used as much as
ton of potato fertilizer-which is strong
in potash-to the acre, and yet we
harvested clean potatoes with smooth
skins and without sscabs.' Not 80 when
fresh farm manure is used. This with
us almost always causes 'scab' by at
tracing wire worms Qulus), which eat
into the skin and give the potato the same
corroded surface as the fungus causes"
Next to the rose, the clemat:s is doubt
less the most popular flower plant of the
day. 1t blooms hardly during the entire
season and embraces great variety OF
beautiful colors. The clematis is rapid
climber, and, if carefully trained, attains
to hei ght of from five to fifteen feet in
a season. Planted so as to cover the pill
lars of verandas, or trained on trellis or
stump or other object, it has no equal. 1t
may also be planted in rocking or wind
ing flower beds, but it will require peg
ging down. The large purple flowers OF
this variety are produced in. the greatest
profusion and remain on the plant q long
time. This is a very satisfactory plant to
cultivate, as it increases in size and beauty
each year. -"-;ssss]:5s'
Prepare trees for planting by cutting
the tops back in proportion to the amount
of injury done to the roots, which is gen
erally from one-half to two-thirds of the
entire top. On this pruning all shoots
should be entirely cut away that are not
needed for the formation OF perfect
head, and the others cut back one-half or
two-thirds of their length. If the head
is not formed high enough upon the
trunk it may often be carried higher by
cutting off all lateral shoots, leaving the
most central one for leader, upon which
will be formed the new head several
inches higher than the first. All injured
roots should have the ends cut smooth
with sharp knife, and with small fruits,
like the grape, current and strawberry. it
is often desirable to cut back some of the